Snow Hill - Mark Sanderson

Mark Sanderson does for the 30s what Jake Arnott did for 60s London - vividly revealing its hidden underworld in an unforgettably gripping crime novel.

"Friday, 18 December, 1936. I went to my funeral this morning."

So begins the diary of Johnny Steadman, an ambitious reporter on London's Fleet Street. When he gets a tip-off about a Snow Hill policeman's death he thinks he's found the scoop that will make his career. Trouble is, no-one at the station seems to know anything about it . or they're not telling.

Johnny's one lead takes him to the meat market at Smithfield where he encounters violent death close up and personal. Undaunted by this chilling message, his investigation drags him deep into a web of corruption that reaches further than he could ever have imagined.

Johnny must risk everything to save his closest friend and expose the ruthless killer at the heart of this dark story. But to bring them to justice he must first go undercover. Six feet undercover. After all, a dead man cannot be tried for murder.

Mark Sanderson is a journalist writing mainly for the Sunday Telegraph and Evening Standard. Since 1999 he has written the Literary Life column in the Sunday Telegraph. A memoir, 'Wrong Rooms', published in 2002 to widespread acclaim was described by Melvyn Bragg as "one of the most moving I have ever read".

''Powerfully atmospheric. A compelling journey into the dark heart of the Square Mile' JAKE ARNOTT

'A stunningly clever debut. Located in time and style somewhere between John Buchan's 1910s and Jake Arnott's 1960s. In a brilliant plot, incredibly paced and acutely narrated, Sanderson hints wryly that there's never been such a thing as a "straight" policeman' BEN SUMMERSKILL, Chief Executive of Stonewall

Reviews for WRONG ROOMS, A MEMOIR:

'Elegantly written, darkly honest yet delicately illuminated by hope' Jake Arnott

'Sanderson's writing soars as the subject matter darkens. extraordinary' Independent on Sunday

'I cannot remember when I last read anything that moved me as deeply as this incredibly brave and honest memoir. I recommend this extraordinary book most highly' Sunday Telegraph

'Few memoirs about love and loss can be quite so brutally honest and compelling. uplifting' Daily Mirror

'You will read this book with a lump in your throat. It is one of the most moving I have ever read' Sunday Times

'Deeply moving. powerful' The Times

'Very moving. I recommend it to you' Time Out

'Brilliant. A beautiful book' Julie Burchill

''Wrong Rooms' has real power. It has authenticity and yet it grips like fiction' Melvyn Bragg